Need to move on but don't know how

saintjammyswine

Contact your local FE College, there may be options within an advanced apprenticeship locally with a better employer but at the very least, they will have contacts with National Careers Service so you can book an appointment and have a chat with them.

National_Careers_Service

Hi chewynut, reading your post was a little disheartening. It sounds like you’re working hard but you’re feeling unsupported and this in turn is really affecting your confidence. I know it’s hard but try to remember what it is you do well and try to stay positive.

I must say well done for trying to tackle the situation head on by fighting your corner. It can be difficult when you’re in a small organisation. Sometimes when you’ve tried everything and all else fails it’s just a case of making the steps to move on as you are doing.

As Horace mentioned, riding it out whilst applying for other jobs is definitely the best way to go. It is often easier to get into work if you’re already in work and it’s good that you have a stint of continuous work behind you. As you say in your post, finding another job can seem daunting but there are lots of helpful users on MSE who can help support you through it all and as hcb42 mentioned, getting in touch with a careers advice service like ourselves will be helpful. We can help you to develop a strong CV, give advice on job searching and even offer interview coaching. If you need any of that do feel free to give us a ring on 0800 100 900 or if you use a mobile book a call back via the following link, it’s all a free service http://goo.gl/mz2LD8

With regards to moving on the first thing you will need is an up to date CV. Have you got a recent CV? If not there are some handy tips on our website with information on what to include in each section. http://goo.gl/uoxay

When it comes to searching for a job I’d suggest a varied approach. Newspapers are great for finding local positions but of course there are other ways. Have you tried registering with any recruiters in your area? If you haven’t already I’d suggest picking a couple that have the type of work that you’re looking for. A good place to find them is on the Agency Central website. They group recruiters into specialisms making it easy to find what you’re looking for. When using recruiters it’s important that you’re clear about the type of work that you want and what your skills are. It’s also a good idea to keep in touch with them on a regular basis as this will help you to keep at the forefront of their minds as they do have a lot of people on their books.

You might also want to consider approaching employers in your area directly to see if they have any opportunities on offer. An important thing to remember is that around 30-40 % of jobs may not be advertised in the traditional sense. Often approaching employers directly or asking contacts whether there are opportunities coming up at their work can help to uncover those ‘hidden’ vacancies.

I hope you find some of this useful and don’t hesitate to either let us know how it’s all going or to ask for any help.

Good luck

Leo

chewynut

Thanks for all the advice.

I've now updated my CV. In 2009 I was at a college that helps disabled people find employment (I'm deaf) so I've got a good template I've been able to update over the years. Updating this time has been easier because I can delete the work experience from 2005 and 2007 (:eek:) and that's given me plenty of room to talk about my current job. My current job looks great on paper so I can be confident my CV looks good at least.

My brother has heard about a vacancy in the kitchen where he works. It sounds perfect so I'm going to see if he'll take a CV in for me because I have to go back into work for the first time since this all kicked off. I can't say I'm looking forward to it much but at least it's the weekend so he won't be around much. I'll just think about how I can use all the situations he puts me in as good examples of teamwork, meeting deadlines, coping with stress and all that.

pinkduvetdiva

chewynut wrote: »

Actually, that kind of advice is just what I need to hear, thank you. The fear is stopping me. Every time I come home in tears because he's humiliated me in front of customers I say that's it, I'm looking for another job but the fear of having to find another job when I feel useless at the one I've got stops me.

The sad thing is that I really do love my job. The customers are the best part of it because you see the regulars. I get loads of Christmas cards and I even got birthday cards last year. I get a lot of comments from the people who know what my boss is like. There are locals who won't use us because of how he treats his staff (aka me).

I like the thought of a warehouse job. I'm used to working any odd hours and all night if I need to. I wonder if I could find an adminy type job in a warehouse or something.

Where are those locals going? That's where you need to be looking for work. Good luck with the job search.

chewynut

That's a good idea, that hadn't occurred to me. They hire a room in the local old folks' home because they aren't charged for hot water.

I have a feeling most of the staff are volunteers but anything is worth a go and it would be a good volunteering opportunity if the worst comes to worst. I know the lady who runs most of the events and have a lovely card from her thanking me for my customer service, She gave it to me when my boss was being even more awful than usual and it was the nicest thing anybody's done for me in two years. I cried

I got a copy of my contract from work today because I've misplaced my current one. They went through a phase of going through the contracts with a fine toothcomb and I had four in as many months. Two things on it are worrying me now.

One is being required to give four weeks notice of leave. The second is I'm not entitled to outstanding holiday pay that I've accrued if I'm let go for any reason other than redundancy. Is that normal?

chewynut

Small update if anyone's awake on Saturday mornings

I've had a reply to a vacancy I mentioned in post #14. I've been invited to a group interview.

Currently running around like a headless chicken because I haven't had an interview since Oct 2011 and I've never been in a group interview before.

:eek:

alba7

Good luck with the interview. Remember to tell yourself that you CAN do this and that you deserve the chance. If you have confidence in your abilities, an potential employer is more likely to do so as well.

Evil_Olive

chewynut wrote: »

I got a copy of my contract from work today because I've misplaced my current one. They went through a phase of going through the contracts with a fine toothcomb and I had four in as many months. Two things on it are worrying me now.

One is being required to give four weeks notice of leave. The second is I'm not entitled to outstanding holiday pay that I've accrued if I'm let go for any reason other than redundancy. Is that normal?

Not totally sure about this so you'd have to do some proper research, but I'm pretty sure that this would be illegal - I don't think they can refuse to pay you for untaken accrued holiday even if you're sacked. Might only apply to whatever the statutory minimum number of holiday days are though - if you get more than that it might not apply to the extra days - hopefully someone more knowledgeable might be able to shed some light on this......?

With regards to four weeks notice, this is pretty standard, but a lot of people don't abide by it for various reasons, especially if they don't need a reference. I've ignored this myself in the past when being able to start sooner was a condition of getting the new job. Luckily my old employer at the time was pretty understanding. But even if he hadn't been, it's very unlikely that he'd do anything about it - I think he'd have to sue you for breach of contract or something like that and I've never heard of this happening, ever. Think how much it would cost him All he could do really is hold your reference over your head....

agrinnall

Completely illegal not to pay you accrued holiday pay when you leave as long as the holiday year hasn't ended before then.

https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/taking-holiday-before-leaving-a-job

Employers must pay for untaken statutory leave (even if the worker is dismissed for gross misconduct).

chewynut

Thank you for the responses. I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to reply before now.

Thank you for the info regarding untaken holiday pay. I'll have to try and find out more about it because we're all owed loads of TOIL. They can't afford to hire more staff or pay us more hours so it all builds up into toil we haven't got time to take. I'm only supposed to have one hour of toil a week but am owed about two days just from the last month.

I'm struggling to take this in. All the other times I've been job hunting I've gone months without getting any responses. I can't take it in that I've had two responses already and the second one sounds hopeful.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. It's really helped my confidence to know I have more rights than I thought I did at work. After the way my boss has been treating me lately I can't wait to don a hard hat and give my notice in! (then run away very very quickly)